By Signing SB 63, Gov. Brian Kemp Folds to Regressive Policy That Criminalizes Poverty - The Bail Project Skip to main content

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Press Contact: Jeremy Cherson, Director of Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

(ATLANTA, GA) — On May 1, Gov. Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 63 into law. The Bail Project offered the following statement in response: 

“With the passage of SB 63, the legislature and governor in Georgia have turned their backs on community safety. By limiting judicial discretion through requirements that cash bail be set for a variety of misdemeanors, and by restricting charitable bail organizations, churches, and individuals from supporting members of their community with bail assistance, SB 63 will fuel mass incarceration while removing a lifeline to impoverished Georgians who are incarcerated solely because they can’t pay bail.

A dozen jurisdictions across the country have recognized that cash bail is bad policy and have moved to reduce or eliminate its role in the pretrial system. Thankfully, we have evidence from this sweeping reform movement: minimizing the use of cash bail makes our communities safer. Instead of building on this evidence and advancing policies that reduce wealth-based incarceration and improve safety, lawmakers in Georgia have willfully turned a blind eye. And it will be vulnerable Georgians in need who bear the catastrophic consequences.

Georgia’s jails are in crisis: buckling under long case processing delays, overcrowding, and inhumane conditions. We need preventative solutions that close the revolving door of incarceration – not more incarceration. Lawmakers can and must pursue smart legislation that expands supportive services like affordable housing, employment programs, and mental health and substance use treatment. We urge other states to grasp that policy such as SB 63 is far from inevitable – it is a choice, and one that comes at the expense of Georgians who are most in need.”

About The Bail Project

The Bail Project is a national nonprofit that provides free bail assistance and pretrial support to thousands of low-income people every year, while advancing policy change at the local, state, and national level. It is on a mission to combat mass incarceration by eliminating reliance on cash bail and demonstrating that a more humane, equitable, and effective pretrial system is possible. Since November 2019, The Bail Project has assisted more than 1,500 Georgians with free bail assistance and voluntary supportive services. Our clients in Georgia have returned to nearly 90% of their court dates, laying waste to the idea that cash bail is a necessary incentive to ensure a person’s future court appearance.

Learn more about The Bail Project at bailproject.org. Read our policy roadmap at aftercashbail.org.

Thank you for your valuable attention. The urgency and complication of the cash bail crisis requires meaningful participation to create real change – change that is only achieved through the support of readers like you. Please consider sharing this piece with your networks and donating what you can today to sustain our vital work.

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Director of Communications and Publications

Jeremy Cherson

As the Director of Communications and Publications, Mr. Cherson directs the organization’s communications, earned media and public relations, internal communications, and publications strategies. With more than fifteen years of experience in criminal justice reform, community-based research, government operations, and research and project management, Mr. Cherson joined The Bail Project in 2020 as the Senior Policy Advisor, where he helped develop the organization’s policy team and oversaw several state and local-level advocacy campaigns. Before The Bail Project, Mr. Cherson served in several positions within the de Blasio administration at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, where his work included the development of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety, a citywide community safety intervention grounded in the principles of participatory justice and where he also led the DOJ-funded Smart Defense Initiative to improve the administration and oversight of New York City’s Assigned Counsel Plan. He received a B.S. in film and television from Boston University and an M.P.A. in public and nonprofit management and policy from New York University.